Musculoskeletal

The great variety of musculoskeletal causes of lower back pain:

An estimated 80% of all back pain’s causes lie here, in the musculoskeletal department. They include quadratus lumborum spasm, facet syndrome, tightness of the small muscles that hold the vertebrae together, and the vast array of postural disorders that can spring from obesity, weakness, scoliosis, or just slumping. This problem can often be worsened by having an old mattress, a dysfunctional chair, or life-style choices that are not in your best interests.  As Rene Caillet has stated: “This type of pain may come from an abnormal back exposed to normal conditions, a normal back exposed to abnormal conditions, or a normal back exposed to normal conditions for which it is unprepared.” The physical exam and possibly an X-ray make the diagnosis. There is no sciatica or numbness or sensory change with any of these disorders, and treatment depends on the individual case.

Some main varieties of musculoskeletal lower back pain are:

Spasm of the Quadratus Lumborum

Facet Syndrome

Flat Back Syndrome

Sacroiliac Joint Derangement

These diagnoses can be very painful, but there is no neurological component. Therefore weakness, numbness, pins and needles, tingling and numbness aree all absent. Treatment by physical therapy or yoga therapy focuses on the site of injury and is usually effective in a matter of days or weeks. These conditions can become chronic. To avoid it, physicians and therapists must take a broader view of the patient’s compensatory mechanisms and habitual activities such as gait, sitting posture and exercise.

We use physical therapy, yoga, ad hoc exercises and maneuvers, integrative techniques, and, where necessary, injections of  Lidocaine, Marcaine, Steroids, botulinum, and PRP.  These conditions are so numerous and various that specifics are widely different.  Among the most common musculoskeletal problems, Yoga therapy is particularly valuable for sacroiliac joint derangement, and facet syndrome. We also are not above combining conservative therapies such as PT ior Yoga with medications, whether oral or injected.  For example, we have made great strides using a combination of Yoga and botulinum injections in scoliosis For more on this subject, click here.